


Lightning

by bioticbooty



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Shameless Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-25
Updated: 2013-11-25
Packaged: 2018-01-02 14:25:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1057841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bioticbooty/pseuds/bioticbooty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set in ME1 during a ‘routine’ planetary survey mission gone horribly awry. Kaidan Alenko and Myka Shepard find themselves in the midst of a wild storm, abruptly Mako-less, and no contact with the Normandy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lightning

Kaidan Alenko stared dubiously at the semi-large opaque jar labeled ‘OFFICERS’ Shepard was currently thrusting at him, deciding whether sticking his hand in it was a wise idea. So far, he’d managed to sneak past this ‘honor’. One glance at Shepard’s face, however, told him that he wasn’t getting away with it this time.

“It’s your turn, Alenko,” she grinned at him. Maliciously and amusedly.

He arched an eyebrow in response, still eying the container with mistrust, before slipping his fingers into the jar and grasping a small piece of paper. He took a bite from his protein bar before pulling his hand out of the jar and read the name of the unlucky soul slammed into ‘survey mission duty’.

ALENKO, KAIDAN.

Perfect.

Shepard snapped the piece of paper out off his hands before he had a chance to open his mouth and heaved a sigh of relief.

He sighed in resignation. “Guess I better gear up, eh?”

She clapped him on the shoulder, brown eyes sparkling. “Williams and I served our time. Now it’s your turn.”

“That’s now how the jar works,” he replied which only made Shepard grin wickedly.

“Clearly, it is.”

“Alright, Skipper,” Williams interjected as she thrusted another jar labeled ‘GROUND TEAM PERSONNEL’ at Shepard, “time to draw the non-mission lead name.”

“Absolutely not,” Shepard said, raising her hands as if the jar were full of poison instead of paper, “Last two times I drew a name, I drew my  _own_. Someone else can do the honors.”

Kaidan tossed the protein wrapper into the recycling chute and casually saluted the women as they argued over who should pick the second name.

Survey missions were one of the most loathed missions a marine could undertake. And that was saying something, because he’d seen a lot of dirty, gritty things and he’d  _still_ rather do any number of those than go surveying for mineral deposits. Especially since that typically involved driving over rough terrain in the Mako, and the horror stories he’d heard from the previous two missions with Shepard driving over things that should plain  _not be driven over ever_ made him cringe.

Yeah, he was definitely driving on this one. Especially since Pressly had informed them earlier that this planet was a rocky sonofabitch with bouts of extreme weather. Current analysis didn’t show any indication of looming storms in the sector he’d be surveying, which was about the only ‘luck’ this mission had.

The unlucky aspect was that there were four sites that looked promising and therefore required surveying. Two of them were in twisted terrain, according to preliminary topographical scans. This was going to be a full day mission. At least daylight planet-side was on their side for the most part. Depending on the weather holding out and ease of access to all the sites, they might be able to make the LZ before nightfall, but only just.

Kaidan sincerely hoped that time would be on their side and the mission would run smooth.

He stepped out of the elevator onto the hangar deck and headed towards his locker. Five minutes later he was suited up and just beginning to wonder when the second and final member of the unfortunate surveying mission would show when the elevator doors hissed open again and Shepard stepped out looking for all the world like a grumpy child.

“I drew the short straw,” she muttered by way of explanation as she headed towards her own locker.

“Does this mean I’m in charge, ma’am?” he asked, letting the small smile that tugged at the corner of his lips speak for him when Shepard glanced upwards, shirt partially off and arms crossed over her chest.

He thought very carefully and as neutrally as possible about maintaining eye contact with her and not looking at other things as she said, “Absolutely, Alenko. You’re calling all the shots on this one. I am officially, as of this very moment, a ground-pounding grunt.”

“Damn,” he murmured. Shepard stripped of her shirt.

 _Damn_.

“That means I’m driving,” he said instead of voicing the inner appreciative thoughts running through his brain.

Shepard was… something else. Something he’d always hoped he’d find, but never really believed that he would.

Figured he’d find himself constrained by the regs. Though that barrier was weakening every day, with every smile and conversation they shared off duty. What had started as seemingly innocent battlefield flirtation had turned to something else, and the next thing he knew he found himself telling her his life story because he was worried about her. And then he’d gone and admitted that.

And she’d murmured something warm about looking forward to talking to him again and something inside him had perked up, hearing the  _real_ meaning behind the words but not quite believing that she was actually suggesting what he thought she was.

He shook his head as he hauled himself into the Mako. Classic Alenko over-thinking and analyzing. If there was anything he was over-thinking, it was most definitely any perceived hidden meaning behind Shepard’s words.

A few minutes later, Shepard hauled herself into the passenger seat and strapped in. “I don’t think I’ve ever had the pleasure of you leading a Mako drop before.”

“That’s because you’re so gung-ho about driving the Mako yourself.”

“Don’t tell me you drive like a grandma.”

“If by that you mean ‘doesn’t drive like me’ then I don’t see how I stand a chance. Cargo bay cleared and secure.”

“Air seals in place, navigation is a go. Just drive the speed limit, ok?”

“Pretty sure there isn’t a speed limit. Thrusters check. Core functioning at optimal capacity.”

“That just means you get to go as fast as you want. Opening cargo bay doors. Waiting for Joker’s mark.”

“I don’t know, Shepard. Taking it slow can be nice.”

He missed the red that flushed her face.

_“Approaching drop point in five… four… three… two… one. Drop is a go, I repeat, drop is a go.”_

Kaidan deftly maneuvered the Mako out, hitting the thrusters as the Mako careened towards the surface of the planet, the horizon flattening out as the ground rushed up to greet them. Even with liberal use of the thrusters, the Mako still crashed into the rocky surface, jerking them against their constraints as he straightened the tank out and brought it to a halt.

“That was the smoothest Mako drop I’ve ever experienced.”

“Not everyone is batshit crazy, Commander.”

“Soldier,” Shepard corrected him, the corners of her mouth tugging upwards in an almost grin.

“Not everyone is batshit crazy,  _soldier_ ,” he said, not quite meaning to make his voice husky, for it to drop a register when he called her  _soldier_ , but not quite stopping it either.

Shepard smirked at him and brought up the local map, marking the first site for the guidance system. “ _Sir_ , I’ve marked the first survey site.”

He kicked the Mako into gear, wishing for the life him that he could tug the collar loose on his suit because the temperature in the cabin had  _definitely_ skyrocketed and the way she said ‘Sir’ had him thinking about her in ways he really shouldn’t be thinking.

**-M-**

Myka Shepard arched her back, stretching her arms above her head before slamming the door shut behind her. Five hours driving around this plain, rocky world inside the cramped interior was dreadful. Made significantly better by present company, of course, she noted as said company rounded the corner, wiping his brow.

Of course, said company also made it nigh unbearable because of all the things she  _could_ be doing while stuck in a cramped space with him, driving around and surveying ore deposits was  _not_ anywhere on that list.

“You’d think there’d at least be a breeze,” Kaidan remarked, squinting off into the distance. Clouds had rolled in a few hours ago but as far as she could tell, the air was unnaturally still.

At least it was breathable, so they didn’t have to wear helmets. There was something about walking on a new planet and breathing its air that was exhilarating. After ten years in the military, that feeling still never got old.

“How long do you figure until nightfall?”

He shrugged, opening the rear hatch to gather the surveying gear. “Another few hours? Terrain’s rougher than I thought it would be. Especially around that last site.”

“No kidding. That mountain was a bitch.”

She took one of the kits and started hoofing it past the boulders blocking access to the third site, still half a klick out. This one was in a ravine, too narrow for the Mako to drive into safely. Especially not if they wanted to be able to open their doors.

Kaidan looped some climbing gear around his shoulders before hauling the other kit upwards, and Myka reveled at just how good he looked, delicate genetically modified silk ropes hanging off his shoulders with clasps at the end, the kit resting on his shoulders, with the reddish glow from the setting sun dancing across his face.

Good was an understatement.

He saw her looking and a shy smile crept over his face. “Just in case.”

Huh?  _Fuck_  she’d been caught staring. Right! The gear. He probably thought she was looking at the gear.

And she had no intention of correcting him on that account.

She smiled back and said, “Better safe than sorry.”

Twenty minutes and much grunting and squeezing between large boulders later (along with a mental note that some goddamn heavy machinery would be needed to get to this deposit if it turned up good), they arrived at the indicator on their map.

And saw nothing.

Alenko’s omni-tool was out and open in a flash, his kit quickly set to the ground, fingers whizzing through the displays faster than she could follow.

Damn tech-heads. Figured she’d fall for one.

Myka shook her head, clearing the thought from her mind. She didn’t need those thoughts floating through her brain, especially not with the regs whispering in the back of her mind incessantly, reminding her of all the reasons why ripping Kaidan Alenko’s suit off him and taking him right then and there was a bad idea.

Well, bad wasn’t the word she’d use.

More like fucking terrific. But she didn’t write the regs.

“So where is it?” she asked.

Kaidan’s eyes flicked up at her in a way that made her go all warm inside before returning to the display. “We’re on the spot. But with all the rubble and boulders, well…”

“Don’t tell me we have to do digging. I don’t do digging.”

“We shouldn’t have to dig, Shepard,” he murmured. He started sweeping his omni out before him. “If we find the approximate top of the site, then we should only have to adjust the scanners for deep-level surveying. And I think that point is here.”

“Anyone ever tell you you’re a geek?”

His lips quirked. “All throughout basic.”

“Maybe you missed your true calling.”

“Oh I don’t know, I like shooting things.”

She grinned up at him and swung her kit to the ground and started unpacking its contents.

Surveying royally sucked because it was boring, and therefore she was going to indulge in some light ‘battlefield’ flirtation while attempting to convince herself that it meant nothing even though she knew otherwise. Eventually she’d have to ‘fess up and realize that her feelings were  _real_ and potentially  _deep_ , but this was not the time nor place.

Preferably that would come once this tour was over and they had some shore leave.

“And you  _are_ good at it,” she acknowledged. “Maybe a hobby then.”

“Aren’t hobbies supposed to be fun?”

“Point taken.”

“Please don’t tell me you’re having fun, Shepard. I’ll have to disown you.”

“Disown me?”

“Absolutely,” he nodded sagely, kneeling across from her as he set up his tripod, “Get this tour expunged from my record and everything. Anyone asks if I’ve met you, I’ll just have to play dumb.” His amber eyes focused on hers. “’Shepard who?’ I’ll say.”

“But then you won’t get to tell all the great stories from fighting the thorian!”

“Damn.”

“Well, you can keep your record as is, ‘cause surveying is definitely not my idea of fun.”

“Good thing. I was beginning to wonder what I was gonna say I did instead of this tour.”

“Six month shore leave.”

“That’s a bit much.”

“You became a mercenary and fought in the terminus systems.”

“Some sort of black ops mission.”

“Infiltrating the big three and taking them out solo.”

“Biotic black ops infiltration unit of one.”

“I’d watch that movie.”

“What the hell?” the husky I’m-having-fun quality that was so rarely present in Kaidan’s voice dropped away as he stared at the instrument readout in front of him.

She didn’t like it one bit. And not just because she enjoyed the fact that the voice only came out around her.

“What?”

“My readouts are freaking. What are yours like?”

“Uhh…” she attached the final assembly and activated the scanner. The screen fritzed like an old television out of tune. “Same.”

She shaded her eyes and looked up. The clouds that had rolled in over the horizon were now directly above them, darkening the sky. Neither had noticed the decrease in visibility because they were already working in crap visibility conditions with all the rocks around them blocking their view. They were big, bad looking behemoths, full of promises of electrical turbulence and rain.

A small drop splashed her face as if to emphasis her last thought.

“That’s not good.”

“Thought preliminary weather scans said it was gonna be clear?” Kaidan mused. “Haul out or continue surveying.”

Shepard frowned at the sky. She’d seen some pretty bad storms on various tours, but these clouds… these looked worse. More massive. She swept her eyes from one horizon to the other.

The clouds spanned the whole sky. This sucker was developing  _fast_.

“I’m gonna go with haul ass outta here.”

Kaidan started repacking the gear even as she finished her sentence, shutting down the fritzing equipment. She pressed her finger to her ear. “Joker, come in.”

Static answered her.

“Joker, this is Shepard. I’m getting a lot of interference.”

_“Com- … mandy … better?”_

“Not really. Alenko and I are heading to the LZ early. When can you get there for pickup?”

_“On oth- .. planet. Forty- … inutes.”_

“Terrific,” she muttered and Kaidan grunted in agreement. “See you there. Shepard out.”

It started raining. Then it poured. By the time all the gear was packed away and ready to go, her bun was tugging at the back of her head from the added weight of water slamming into it. Some of it had already snuck beneath the armor plating of her suit to her underlayer.

Fantastic.

By the time they made it back to the Mako, slipping on rocks and catching each other awkwardly, both were completely soaked through. The temperature had plummeted and her teeth chattered as she chucked her kit into the rear hatch and hauled herself into the Mako. Kaidan climbed in after her and she scooted into the driver’s seat, trusting him to navigate her to where they needed to be.

Then the storm started in earnest. The wind picked up and beat against the side of the tank, jerking her off their path repeatedly, the overly sensitive thrusters tossing them around even more as she over-corrected when the wind suddenly whipped in from the other direction. A dull roar sounded through the hull, and she spared a glance for Alenko, unsure if she was actually seeking comfort from his warm gaze but getting it nonetheless and feeling all the better for it.

“And I thought storms in Rio were bad,” she stated as she gripped the controls.

“Range is crap on the topography. Too much interference.”

“So I’m driving blind?”

“Only a little.”

“Good thing I’ve got you at navigation and not the other way around then. We’d be fucked.”

Kaidan grunted as he jerked against the straps, a particularly strong gust knocking into the side of the Mako. “It’s like a damn rollercoaster,” he muttered once the tank stabilized.

And that was with her taking it  _slow_.

“How much further?” she asked. The interior of the cabin lit up as a particularly nasty lightning strike hit the ground ahead of them, clearly and blindingly visible through the small view ports. She squinted her eyes in a meager attempt to keep her vision.

Another strike punctuated Kaidan’s response. “About ten kilometers out.”

“Fuck.”

“Just past the last surveying site.”

“That’s fucking terr-” she never got to finish her sentence as a bolt of lightning struck the Mako, frying the computer system and knocking out the thruster suspension systems. The drive core fitzed and safety controls engaged, shutting it down before it could take damage and blow.

Unfortunately, that left the Mako with its super jumpy suspension a wide open target to the gale force gusts of wind. Coupled with the electrical frying, the Mako did something it rarely did: it crashed, flipping onto its side, skidding across the surface.

The last thing she saw was Kaidan bringing his arms to his face as the view port cracked open and shattered before darkness took her.

**-M-**

The first thing Kaidan became aware of was the water pooling around his fingertips. He groaned in pain, opening his eyes slowly, gravity pulling him against the straps at an awkward angle. The roof of the Mako almost a perfect forty-five to the ground, and not in his favor.

His ribs ached and his neck was stiff, and he felt blood running down the side of his face, mixing with the water pooling below (above?) him.

Then he became keenly aware of the silence outside of the rain, wind, and thunder.

He twisted in his seat and saw Shepard hanging limply in her straps. Her hair had fallen out of her bun and was mixing with wet debris scattered along the roof of the Mako, some if plastered across her face.

“Shepard?” he coughed out.

No response.

“Shepard?” he asked again, a little louder and a little more insistent. He unbuckled the straps, grunting from the pain again when he tumbled down, barely managing to not land on his head.

He righted himself and scooted along the roof. “Myka?”

She twitched, but remained otherwise still. A nasty looking cut decorated her face just above her brow, but he couldn’t tell how bad it was. Hopefully superficial because their chances of making the LZ had just dropped to nill, and he very much doubted that Joker would fly the Normandy in through this anyway. Certainly not in a search pattern when they didn’t make the rendez-vous point. Pressly would balk at that last one if he didn’t the first.

Kaidan reached for the buckle, wrapping an arm around her shoulders before releasing the catch. She came crashing into him, her dead weight giving her more momentum than he’d anticipated and he fell backwards, smacking his head on the cold, hard surface.

She twisted in his arms and groaned, her head knocking against his chest.

In another time, in another place, he would have enjoyed this position immensely. Preferably with less armor between them, fewer bruises, and warmer, dryer air.

“Are you alright?”

“I think so,” Shepard muttered, before sitting up slowly. “Did I land on you?”

Kaidan did his best to ignore her straddling his waist, which was only  _just_ feasible thanks to the armor, and replied, “Yeah.”

He wasn’t sure if he should sit up or not, since she was showing no inclination of moving any time soon, and sitting up would put him face to face with her, her legs wrapped around his waist…

She shivered. “It’s  _cold_.”

“We’re gonna need to move,” he gestured towards the broken window. “Water is flooding into the cabin. I think we’re on a hill.”

Shepard offered him her hand and pulled him to a sitting position, sliding off him to peer through the view port. She wiped her brow and winced. “I think my ribs took a beating.”

“Feel any sharp pain?”

She shook her head and looked at him, easing herself back down. Relief flooded him. They didn’t have the necessary equipment to deal with a punctured lung. Though it was possible she’d cracked a rib or two, they needed to find a place to bunker down and wait the storm out before he could take a proper look.

“What about you, you okay?”

“I’ll live,” he grunted, and Shepard grinned.

They crawled out of the Mako, rain slamming into their faces as soon as heads escaped the confines of the cab, washing the blood away. The droplets stung like sharp needles on his cold skin. He pulled the rear hatch open and groped for the emergency shelter equipment. He found the tent first and passed that to Shepard. She strapped it to her back. Lightning temporarily back-lit her, turning her into a silhouette on the horizon.

She pulled her hair together in her fist, twisting it in a meager attempt to contain it. He hadn’t realized just how long her hair was and suddenly had a hard time  _not_ picturing her somewhere away from the military, dressed as a civilian. Nor had he realized it was so  _curly_. Even the rain couldn’t entirely flatten the curls.

With one final appreciative glance, he reached back into the hatch and grabbed the large pack that would contain rations, a small lamp that was more of a large functioning glow-stick, two sleeping bags, medical supplies, a distress beacon, and other small assorted items. He heaved it onto his back, tightening the straps across his chest.

“Looks like there are some large boulders over there that might provide some relief from the wind!” Shepard shouted.

After much tripping and constant knocking about from the wind, Kaidan reached out and grabbed hold of Myka’s hand as much to steady the both of them as to ensure her safety. She flashed him a grateful smile before refocusing on the path before them, made all the more treacherous from the deluge of rain and freezing temperature. He was surprised it wasn’t sleet, it was that cold.

By the time they reached the rock formation Shepard had pointed out earlier, both of them were completely soaked to the bones. Even his underlayer was damp, sticking to his skin and making him feel even colder than he actually was. Myka’s teeth weren’t the only ones chattering by the time the tent was set up and it was all he could do to not flap his arms and bounce from foot to foot in attempt to capture some semblance of body heat.

Both of them stripped off their armor, leaving the plating in the tent bag tied to a stake outside before hopping in. Shepard activated the lamp while he emptied the contents of the duffel, spreading the two sleeping bags on the floor. There was barely enough room for the two bags to fit. He hadn’t realized just how cramped the emergency tent was and was suddenly extraordinarily grateful that Wrex hadn’t drawn the short straw ‘cause he barely would have room to breathe, let alone lie down.

Lastly, he withdrew the med-kit. He turned to Shepard who was currently eying the thermal bag and her soaking underlayer, a pensive frown on her face, teeth still chattering, hugging her arms to her chest in an attempt to capture some warmth. “Medic time,” he announced, and Shepard turned her frown on him.

“Looks like the cut on your brow has stopped bleeding,” he murmured, gently tilting her face towards the light.

“Probably because my face is too damn cold for the blood to run through it anymore.”

His lips quirked in a smile as he applied medigel to the wound more to disinfect it than to stem blood loss. She was right about one thing: her face was  _cold_.

“Your turn.” Her eyes glimmered wickedly as she took the medigel tube out of his hands before he could do more than open his mouth and small, frozen fingers gently dabbed medigel to his temple. He’d forgotten about the blood he’d noticed running down his face in his frenzy to ensure she was alright.

Her dark brown eyes were sincere and earnest, focused, as she finished applying the gel to his face. He wanted to lose himself in them.

“Your turn,” he said instead.

“We already did me.”

“Your ribs,” he emphasized his point by gently prodding her in the side and she winced.

“Okay, okay,” she grumbled before turning around and lifting her hair so he could unzip the back of her underlayer.

He rubbed his hands together in a pitiful attempt to warm his fingers, knowing it didn’t do any good because he was frozen, but also knowing that Shepard would appreciate the gesture anyway. He halted the zipper at her waist, estimating that was enough room for her to pull the suit down so he could get a good look at her ribs and check for any abnormal discoloration aside from bruising.

Her flesh erupted in goosebumps as soon as she pulled it down, slipping her arms out of the suit and twisting back to face him. Her lips had thinned marginally from the exertion and as soon as she was facing him fully, Kaidan understood why.

A massive bruise was forming just below her left breast, presumably where her body had lurched against the strap from the crash.

He gently touched fingertips to her ribs, feeling for anything out of the normal, applying pressure to test her sensitivity. One hand snaked around and braced against her back to hold her steady. Her skin was damp and cold against his gently prodding fingers, and she shivered in response to his touch.

“What’s the prognosis, doc?”

“Not feeling any breaks, cracks, or swollen tissue.”

“Just a massive bruise, then?” she asked.

“Just a massive bruise,” he replied.

His fingers lingered on her skin, his other hand still bracing her back slid a fraction of an inch lower and she shivered again. Her skin was still like ice. So was his, come to think of it.

“We should probably think of getting warm…” Shepard mumbled. “If that’s even possible.” He gently removed his fingers, but instead of pulling her suit back on, Shepard stood up and began tugging it down even further. “Do you mind sharing a sleeping bag? I’m positively frozen.”

If Kaidan had the required blood circulation, his face would have flushed brilliantly. Instead he stammered out, “No. Not at all. Though I don’t know how warm I’ll be, either.”

She motioned for him to remove his suit, too. “Wet clothes are not allowed in the sleeping bag.”

While he unzipped himself, Shepard leaned over and grabbed one of the sleeping bags, deftly opening it up and spreading it on top of the one still on the ground. She climbed in without waiting for him, scooting to the far edge and leaving it unzippered before sighing impatiently at him. He quickly extricated his feet from the suit and attempted to pat himself dry from the lingering dampness that clung to his frozen skin before deciding that he’d dry off just as well in the bag as out and quickly snuck in next to Shepard, pulling the zipper up as far as it would go. The edge of the back reached above his nose as he dived deeper inside it.

Frozen fists bumped his chest as Shepard rotated to face him. “Jesus your feet are cold,” her teeth clattered as she spoke.

“Your hands are like ice.”

“Aren’t biotics supposed to run warmer than others?”

“We get frozen too.”

“No wonder I feel like a human popsicle then. If Kaidan Alenko is cold, it’s fucking  _cold_.”

He shivered again, but not just because he was cold. Because of the way his name sounded on her lips, despite the clattering teeth. All warm and soft and he wanted to hear it again and again.

 _Damn_ , the cold must have made his brain sluggish or something, or maybe it was the proximity to her and the fact that he could feel her bare skin just barely brushing up against him every time she shivered, because this was a line of thinking that he didn’t usually allow himself to indulge in. Yet his mind kept wandering, reveling at the close contact.

Before he could stop himself or over think anything, he pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her and mumbled, “For warmth.”

It wasn’t his only reason, but it was a good one.

She snaked one arm around his torso and snuggled her head into his chest. Their shivering slowly became less insistent as both of them finally, mercifully, began to regain some warmth in each other. He didn’t know when he’d started stroking her hair, but when he realized he was, he couldn’t find it in himself to stop, tucking her head below his chin, both of them completely inside the sleeping bag and unwilling to extricate themselves even the tiniest bit and expose newly warmed skin to the frigid air.

He started drifting in and out of sleep, completely comfortable and absolutely intoxicated with the way Myka felt in his arms. Her breath had slowed significantly, and he wasn’t sure if she’d fallen asleep or not, but he didn’t care because, for once, his sleepy brain had decided to not over think anything, or worry or fuss, and to just experience the moment. Experience Myka in his arms, warm and surprisingly soft, smaller than he’d thought she would be. As if the force of her personality made her seem larger than she actually was, giving her a physical presence that simply made one assume she was taller.

His hand slowed, coming to rest at the base of her neck, tangled in her curls as he finally drifted off to sleep, sparing one last moment to pull her closer to him, hugging him to her protectively before finally slipping under.

**-M-**

Myka let Kaidan sleep for an hour, completely amazed that any man could look so utterly adorable while unconscious. When she finally managed to pull her head away just enough to see if he really was asleep, she’d noticed the lines of worry normally present on his face had melted away. In their place were soft features and full lips parted ever so slightly.

She really shouldn’t have been surprised at how big he was. Or rather, how small she felt lying so close to him, completely engulfed in his arms as he slept away. But she was. He was solidly built, which she’d always known, but had never really fully appreciated until he crawled into the sleeping bag after her, icy feet sliding down her legs and sending shivers up her spine which were  _hopefully_ taken as her being cold and not as a reaction to his touch, bare skin on bare skin. Something she’d fantasized about knowing full well she  _shouldn’t_ , and now here she was, lying in his sleeping arms and it was every bit as good as she imagined and more.

She couldn’t pinpoint exactly when, but at some point during this mission she’d gone from thinking about breaking the regs to actively  _wanting_ to break the regs. A thought that both terrified and exhilarated her.

They’d both hinted and flirted and brought up ‘shore leave’ and ‘after the mission’ but had never actually made any sort of solid commitment, never voiced any feelings, never said the words outright and never really sought clarification from the other. Perhaps because of some primal fear of rejection or disbelief that something like this could actually spring up in the middle of one of the biggest missions of her life. But she’d found him and now, staring at him while he dreamed away, she was pretty sure she’d found  _him_.

And that kind of really scared her.

She carefully shifted her position, sliding up so she could look at his face without tilting her head. He sighed in his sleep, his hand slipping down and coming to a rest at her waist as she settled back down gently. His face was mere inches from hers and she simply laid there, taking in his features and wondering where in the hell everything had turned upside down. Because laying there, in his arms, she was no longer able to plausibly deny her feelings for him.

She could make out the scar on his lip, barely visible in the meager lighting that filtered in from the edge of the sleeping bag covering most of his head and all of hers. The soft lighting only served to emphasize his permanent five o’clock shadow, the occasional flash of lightning sharpening the contrast.

Myka wanted to reach out and trace the scar on his lips gently, memorizing all the planes and angles of his face by touch, coupling it with the visual she’d memorized long ago.

She wiggled herself a little closer to him, jostling his legs in the process. He slipped one over hers as soon as she came to rest, murmuring softly in his sleep. A smile crept over her face.

She could do this for hours.

And officially become the world’s creepiest CO in the process.

Her bottom leg started cramping, pinned by both her leg and his. With as much care as she could, she slid her top leg between his. The other stopped tingling almost immediately and she adjusted her position again.

“You move too much,” Kaidan mumbled.

She smiled again. “And you sleep like the dead.”

“Clearly not, because I’m awake.” Bleary amber eyes attempted to focus on hers.

“I don’t think I’d classify your current status as ‘awake’,” she remarked as he rubbed his eyes with the hand that had been resting in the narrow part of her waist moments ago. “More like adorably sleepy.”

“’Adorably sleepy’ isn’t ‘asleep’ last time I checked.”

“Mmm.”

He returned the hand to her waist and a thrill of energy coursed through her before pooling low in her belly. Then she felt him twitch against her and she thought he blushed, but it was too dark to tell. She didn’t move, couldn’t bring herself to move. Just looking at him, amber eyes piercing into her soul, making her feel bare and naked in a way simply removing her clothes never could. Her heart beat loudly in her ears, blood rushing wildly, accompanying the howling of the wind and punctuated by thunder.

His fingers dug into her skin and suddenly warm lips met hers, soft and hesitant, full of surprise and she forgot to breathe, her heart forgot to beat, and time forgot to pass as he kissed her. She parted her lips and tentatively sought his tongue out with hers and whimpered when his found hers first, crushing herself against him and relishing the small sound of desire that rumbled in the back of his throat, vibrating against her, in her. He deepened the kiss as she rolled onto her back, pulling him on top of her, curling one leg against the side of his hips as he settled against her. He groaned again, the kiss becoming more insistent, more heated, hips rocking into each other.

Her hands roved over the skin of his back, memorizing the feel of him, finding scars from old wounds she didn’t know the stories to.

She felt him press against her again, straining against the fabric separating them. Impatient fingers sought out his waistband, ripping at the fabric and suddenly his hands were tearing at her panties, her bra, unable to remove the garments fast enough. Impatient noises escaped her lips as she slid down him, jerking his briefs off in one smooth motion. She pressed herself tight against him as she slid back up, hearing him groan in response as her skin rubbed against the sensitive underside of his obvious arousal. He was thick and long and warm and she shivered just thinking about him inside her as she came to rest at his neck, trailing kisses to his ear.

Kaidan flared as her bra fell away, exposing her breasts. Warm fingers gently rubbed her nipples and she bucked into him and he slid against her, pressing against her. White heat flared within her as he teased with the tip of his head, grinding against her, growling into her as he kissed her again. She couldn’t take it anymore.

She dug fingers into his back and desperately whispered, “Kaidan…” against his lips, dark eyes staring deeply into his amber ones.

Months of sexual tension resolved in one single, glorious moment as Kaidan entered her, whispering her name into her ear, lips pressed against her cheek as she nuzzled into him, fighting for breath. Her world exploded into a thousand sensations as he slowly, softly, yet expertly began moving within her. Slipping an arm behind her back and holding her against him, seeking as much contact as he could. For a moment he held her still, fully inside her and unable to go deeper and she cried out, wrapping her legs around him to hold him there forever. He slowly withdrew himself and soft lips met hers again as began moving in earnest, as if he were memorizing every aspect of her, of this moment, of them.

She couldn’t get enough of him, couldn’t decide whether to increase the tempo or keep it the same, because he was driving her wild, constantly tugging her to the edge of her limits as emotions ran wildly through her. Ragged breath hot against her lips, whimpers coursing through her throat and his, melding together.

Kaidan made the decision for her, letting himself run with the emotions that played across his face as he stared into her eyes. Their tempo was erratic, full of need and desire and passion and a million other things that couldn’t be put into words without diminishing the meaning. Blue light flashed along his skin as her lips met his again, unable to stay away for long. She marveled at this release of control, this display of trust, and tried to let her actions speak for her, to let him know that she  _wanted_ him to lose control around her. Needed him to.

He hummed into her mouth, all husk and desire and passion and understanding. Calloused hands pulled her impossibly closer as she dug her fingers into his shoulders, pushing into her more insistently, faster. She cried into him, warmth building within her and threatening to boil over and he slowed their rhythm, trailing kisses down the front of her neck. She grabbed a fistful of his hair, thrown off and even more aroused at his sudden change of pace, riled and desperate, but he slid in and out slowly, treasuring the moment and she couldn’t fault him because she simultaneously wanted this to last forever and to careen over the edge, dragging him along with her. To feel him find release at her hands.

He kept her at the edge, the tension building low in her abdomen until she shuddered. Until his every touch left burning trails along her skin, until she felt as if she’d been unmade and reconstituted as pure liquid warmth, pure sensation. And suddenly he was all over her and she him, hands roaming and seeking and touching, driving into her until she screamed his name and he hers, until he flared so bright neither could tell the difference between that and the lightning. She arched her back as her world shattered around her, Kaidan still moving frantically, desperately. She wrapped her arms around him as he came, falling against her as they both remembered to breathe again, having lost track of time, losing themselves in each other.

Neither moved, neither had the energy to move. Both catching their breath, blue energy occasionally rippling along his skin in the afterglow as she combed her fingers through his hair. Myka closed her eyes as Kaidan nuzzled into her and murmured a soft, “Mmm,” as he sighed contentedly.

**Author's Note:**

> Finally posted here on AO3!


End file.
